Lens for Rebel T3 + Lens Hood

[Mocha13]

So, I've been into photography most of my life but never had the opportunity to own anything beyond a point-and-shoot. I recently decided to purchase a Rebel T3 with the standard 18-55mm lens kit. I decided to purchase a lens hood off eBay and now I'm unsure whether I purchased the right thing or not... it said it was for the Rebel T3 but now I see in the fine print it says it's 58MM. Is this the correct size for my lens?

Also, I'm looking to invest in an additional lens. I'm looking for something that will achieve a nicer bokeh and crisper images. I'm mostly taking portraits of my son at play, and street photography. I've been debating between getting a 50mm f/1.8 and a 1.4. Is the 1.4 worth the price jump?

Thanks

 

[Noxire]

The lens hood being 58mm simply means it screws on a 58mm filter threads on the front of a lens.

Personally I think the 50mm f/1.4 it's worth the price jump with better build-quality, better focus and sharper. You have to decide yourself how much that is worth to you.

You could also check out the sigma 50mm f/1.4 I've heard many prefer it over the Canon.

Gl with the lens-shopping

 

[ann]

Look on the inter ring of the lens and see if you can find something that will say 58mm or check the inside of the lens cap and it will tell you what filter size (including lens hood) fits that lens.

Good for you getting the lens hood, use it inside or outside.

 

[scorpion_tyr]

For lens hoods, try to find the one for your specific lens. 58mm is the filter size for your lens. And personally I would go with the 50mm f/1.8 and use the rest of the case for a decent zoom lens just to give you more options.

 

[redessa]

Are you sure you didn't get a filter rather than a hood?

For canon's 18-55mm kit lens, you need the hood labeled EW-60C. If you look on Canon's website you'll see that each hood only fits a few specific lens. I have 3 lenses (so far) and each has a different hood. I can put the hood for my 55-250 onto my 18-55 (and vice versa) but the bigger hood will cause vingetting on the shorter lens. And I am guessing the shorter hood would not do much good on the longer lens.

I hope you bought the right thing but if not, I hope it is still something you can use - or at least didn't cost much. I got my hoods on Amazon from a 3rd party manufacturer. They fit just great and cost a third of the actual canon products.

 

[subscuck]

The 1.4 is going to perform much better in low light situations than will the 1.8. The 1.8 has a tendency to hunt and not lock on when AFing in low light, low contrast situations. Any lens will occasionally hunt in that situation, but cheaper lenses like the 1.8 will do it far more. As already mentioned, while the 1.8 is better optically than you would expect for it's price, the 1.4 will be better in terms of sharpness, color and contrast. The 1.4 will AF much faster and far more quietly than the 1.8. The 1.8 is very loud and clunky sounding when it AFs, so keeping it low profile in quiet settings isn't an option (think church, wedding service, etc.). The difference in build quality is huge as well. The 1.8 feels like something you won playing Skee Ball, while the 1.4 feels more like money well spent. When people ask your question, my recommendation is always get the 1.4if you have the money for it. For a lot of people it ends up being a lens they upgrade to from the 1.8 anyway, so why not just skip right to it?

Someone also mentioned the more expensive Sigma 1.4. That's the 50 I own. It's a great lens and I'll take it over Canon's any day.

 

[dakkon76]

I started with a 50mm f/1.8 and sold it to upgrade, also to a Sigma f/1.4. It's $100 more than the Canon, but it had stellar reviews. After owning the cheapo, and upgrading to the intermediate - I can definitely say it was worth the $500 I spent on it. It comes with a great lens hood, and after reading lots of articles on the lens protector vs lens hood debate... I don't plan on buying another UV filter strictly for lens protection. So, I say go for the 1.4, but at least compare it to the Sigma before you decide.

As for the 1.8. It's cheap and takes decent pics to start out but I found it pretty hard to get good focus, the focus ring blows, it's VERY loud and clunky when it's working for focus... even though the pics were ok, it wasn't on my camera very often just because it didn't feel all that great or operate very smoothly.

On the up side, I had it for a year and sold it for $90... so I didn't lose much when I decided to upgrade. Strictly because it's "Canon" it will hold it's value if you think shelling out $400-$500 for your first prime is a bit much to swallow.

 

[KmH]

Canon doesn't include a lens hood in the T3 kit, with the 18-55 mm lens?

 

[Overread]

Nope - my 400D didn't come with a hood for the kit lens either - nor did my MPE lens (and finding a hood for that is not easy). Canon are fairly poor with including hoods with there lenses - it always was in the past that the sigma 150mm macro was only more expensive than the canon because the canon came without hood nor tripod collar